Point of View
by steph84
Summary: Based on Book of Shadows. Jeff's girlfriend's point of view puts the whole experience into perspective.
1. Impressions

A/N: I don't own any characters except for Athena Robinson.  
  
She hadn't expected him home for another day or so. Yet there was the distinct sound of a key in the door and then voices, leading her to believe that he hadn't come home alone. Sure enough, when she entered the main foyer, she was greeted by five people.  
  
She had known Jeff Patterson for years, but only moved in with him two years ago. It had been love at first sight and it was the kind of relationship she adored: she could leave the house and do her thing while he went ahead with his Blair Witch Hunt project and when she came home at the end of the day, they crawled into the bed they shared, just happy to be in each other's presence. Of course, there was a lot of together time, too, but they both had the ability to possess independence in the relationship, and that was nice.  
  
She had heard of the other four by name only. The tall woman with long black hair and pale face had to be Kim Diamond. Her eyes were steely cold, yet there was a soft smile on her face, revealing that she was kinder than she first appeared. Her clothing was all black and she wore what looked like a cross between a robe and a dress.  
  
Erica Geerson had to be the one wearing the pentacle charm around her neck. Erica's hair was bright red and she had green eyes, mixed with flecks of hazel. She wore what could only be described as elaborate clothes, complete with a long, green throw-over jacket and a red dress underneath. Bracelets and rings lined her wrists and fingers and the bracelets jangled whenever she moved her arms.  
  
Tristen Ryler had to be the quivering blonde who looked like she had been to hell and back. There was nothing that stood out about her, except for the air of confusion and hatred surrounding her. Her jacket looked damp and her eyes seemed dead to the world.  
  
Tristen was in the arms of the only other man in the room and she assumed him to be Stephen Ryan Parker. He was handsome, with dark features and a strong face. He smiled weakly at her when Jeff introduced him to her.  
  
"This is my reason for getting up in the morning," Jeff said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Guys, this is Athena Robinson."  
  
"It's nice to meet you guys," Athena offered in her quiet way. She felt bewildered by so many things. "I didn't expect Jeff home for another day or so, least of all did I expect him to bring company. You'll have to pardon the mess of the place," she apologized sheepishly.  
  
"No worries," Kim said, taking her bag further into the foyer. "You wanna give us the grand tour, Jeff?"  
  
Jeff was off and running before Athena had a chance to ask him why they were back so early. She smiled meekly at Tristen and Stephen and ushered them further into the old factory warehouse that she and Jeff shared.  
  
"You have the most beautiful shade of auburn hair I've ever seen," Erica commented as Jeff led them down the main hallway towards his Blair Witch store.  
  
"Thank you," Athena replied. "I think I got it from my mom's side of the family."  
  
"How long have you and Jeff lived here?" Kim chipped in, slowing down to join the conversation.  
  
"I've lived here for two years," Athena answered, "but Jeff's lived here much longer. Probably seven years now."  
  
Kim let out a low whistle. "That's a long time."  
  
It certainly seemed like a long time but Jeff had made his home here at R.F.D. 431 and no one was about to uproot him from it. Of course, had Sheriff Ron Cravens had his way, Jeff never would have rooted in Maryland at all, least of all Jericho Mills. Cravens hated Jeff ever since he was a kid. Athena still wasn't sure why and Jeff sure wasn't eager to talk about it.  
  
After Jeff assigned bedrooms to their guests (Stephen and Tristen to Jeff's room, Erica in the middle bedroom and Kim in the back bedroom) Athena followed him upstairs to his editing loft. "You're home early," she commented casually as Jeff seated himself at the editing desk and began running through the footage of the shortened tour.  
  
"Something weird happened," he muttered, intensely focused on the screen. "Tristen was pregnant and miscarried. I brought them back here until she was well enough to travel back to Boston."  
  
As much as she loved Jeff, Athena found it hard to accept that Jeff could announce such an emotionally startling piece of information without blinking an eye. "Will Tristen be okay?" she asked, feeling a great amount of concern for the young woman.  
  
"The doctor said she'll be fine once she gets some rest." Jeff's attention was horribly diverted as he studied the screen. Athena looked past him to the screen and saw the ruins of Rustin Parr's house where she and Jeff had camped out several times before.  
  
"Why don't you take your jacket off?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch behind him. "You can stay awhile, you know?"  
  
Finally Jeff cracked a smile and looked back at her. "You just want to see me with less clothes on," he joked.  
  
"Right," Athena replied sarcastically with a soft grin. She got up and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I did miss you, though. These walls can be awfully lonely without someone to talk to."  
  
"How do you think I managed before you came along?" he asked her.  
  
"Pretty poorly," she replied. "I used to hate coming here because the place was such a mess."  
  
"Do I have housekeeper written on my forehead?" Jeff retorted, his attention back on the screen.  
  
"Hey guys, mind if we join you?" Erica and Kim were standing on the stairs and Athena sat back down on the couch.  
  
"Not at all," she said, gesturing for the girls to take the two chairs next to Jeff. She curled up on the couch and closed her eyes. After all, she had better get used to it. She had a feeling she would be sleeping here for quite a few nights. 


	2. Why Not Me?

The sound of a distant cry woke her from her slumber. She sat up slowly and looked around, disorientated. Where was she? Why did her neck hurt so much? Rubbing her eyes so that she would wake up a bit more, she looked around the room.  
  
Jeff was still sitting in front of the screen, fixated. Both Kim and Erica had disappeared and Stephen was going downstairs. "Morning, sleepyhead," Jeff teased as he noticed his girlfriend's movement. "You awake now?"  
  
She got up and moved to the chair beside him. "Is it really morning?" she asked.  
  
Jeff shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Nah. Just fucking with your mind." He got up to pour himself a cup of coffee, holding the pot up in the air with raised eyebrows, silently asking if Athena wanted a cup.  
  
She shook her head and yawned. "I had the weirdest dream," she recalled, more to herself than Jeff. "I was in the woods, but I was lost. And it wasn't the woods here, it was the woods at home." 'Home' to Athena was North Bay, Ontario. She was born and raised in Canada and was proud to admit it.  
  
"Strange," Jeff remarked, leaning against the table, studying Athena. She looked up at him and couldn't hold it back any longer.  
  
"What happened out there, Jeff?"  
  
He sighed a heavy sigh and glanced at the floor. "Would you believe me if I told you I didn't know?" he asked without looking up.  
  
"I would," Athena replied slowly, "but I find it odd. We've camped out there many nights and nothing's ever happened to us. Why now?"  
  
Jeff remained silent but shook his head. "No idea," he finally remarked. "But it was weird. We ran into this other tour group, the Blair Witch Walk or some shit like that. We got into a fight and Stephen told them something about Coffin Rock and how it was a scary fucking place. The other tourists wanted to go camp out there so they took off. The five of us made a solemn vow to stay up all night, to make sure those assholes didn't come back to the foundation." He paused and shook his head. "But that's all I remember. There was a lot of drinking and drugs, but you would think one of us would be able to remember something."  
  
"You don't remember anything?"  
  
"Nothing." He looked up. "Hours of my life are lost and I can't remember what the hell I did. It's like we blacked out. But even better is, when we woke up this morning, my cameras were trashed. Tristen and Stephen's research was trashed. And the tapes of the footage were missing."  
  
Athena glanced at the screen where the frame remained on the foundation. "We found them," Jeff said, answering her silent question. "The weird thing is, we didn't actually find them. Kim saw them. In her mind." There was skepticism in his voice but a slight quaver was there, too. "She's psychic or some shit like that. And she told me exactly where they'd be. Right where Heather's tapes were found." He stopped and took a deep breath. "So I don't know what to think," he concluded.  
  
Athena didn't know what to think, either. For two years, she had Jeff had been making the trek to the Black Hills without a single problem or concern. Jeff and Athena, who had perfect trust and perfect love for one another, never encountered a single thing to do with the Blair Witch. But Jeff goes into the woods with four complete strangers and things happen, things that Athena never would have dreamt of. She couldn't help but feel a little singled out. Did Elly have something against her? Did she not find Athena worthy of her presence? Or was Athena letting Jeff's overactive imagination get to her and was it really just the drugs and alcohol that caused them to black out?  
  
She got up. "I'm going to get a glass of water," she informed him. "Want something?"  
  
He held up his coffee mug. "I'm going to need something stronger than water to keep me awake tonight." He reclaimed his seat at the desk and began staring at the screen again. "I'm determined to find out what happened last night."  
  
It was on the tip of Athena's tongue to say, "You're a drunk," but she kept her tongue and descended the stairs into the kitchen. Erica and Stephen were seated at the table, obviously discussing the previous night's events. They stopped when Athena entered the room. "Don't stop on account of me," she said with a smile, going to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.  
  
"How long have you known Jeff?" Stephen asked suddenly.  
  
Athena thought for a moment. "In exact numbers, ten years. And a few months, I'm sure."  
  
"Is he trustworthy?"  
  
This question took Athena by surprise and she felt a mild wave of anger sweep over her. Who was this man to invade her house and then begin questioning the reliance of her boyfriend? After all, Stephen was the one who booked the tour, wasn't he? "Excuse me?" she questioned calmly.  
  
"I'm sorry," Stephen immediately apologized. "That was rude. I didn't mean that. I'm just so confused about what happened last night." He put his head in his hands and Athena felt her anger fade away.  
  
"Don't apologize," she offered, opening the bottle of water. "You have every right to ask. You're confused and you've all been through a lot." She paused before asking, "How's Tristen doing anyway?"  
  
"Not so well," Stephen replied. "She's having dreams, acting weird and she looks awful. We're going to leave in the morning."  
  
"I can drive you to the airport if you want," Erica offered, startling Athena. She had almost forgotten about her being there.  
  
"I'd appreciate that," Stephen replied with a smile. Athena crept back upstairs to the editing loft where she tapped Jeff on the shoulder and motioned that she was going to pull the old mattress in the corner out so they could sleep on that. She fished some sheets out of the linen cupboard in the corner and fitted them over the mattress, which smelled musty. Grabbing two pillows off the couch, she curled up on her makeshift bed and waited for Jeff. 


End file.
